Hi everyone. First of all, I am not really a bird watcher (though have a little now with my new binoculars- I looked at a dove i think from about ten feet away the other day and I never knew it had what almost looked like gold leaf on its neck- never knew that).
Thanks everyone- I have read many posts on this forum to help decide on what binoculars to buy. I wanted to give a short review of my new bushnell excursion 8x42 binoculars from a laymans perspective:
Just for perspective- I have never looked through a pair of leicas or swarovskis. I have only looked through binoculars you might find at a big 5 or similar place. I also have a pair of cheap zoom bushnells.
I was astounded when I first looked through the excursions. Everything looked so bright, clear, and sharp. looking through my old pair is like looking through two dark cloudy tunnels in comparison. Again I have never looked through any expensive high end stuff, but I just cant imagine how it would be possible for them to be hugely better (and I will never look through any- just in case .
I have read posts where people talk about them not being sharp at the edges, and also some have suggested there would be some distortion because they are so wide angle (FOV= 426 feet).
To me they look sharp period. I dont spend a lot of time looking at the edges. I mainly point them at things I want to look at, but even intentionally looking at the edges, they still look sharp and nice to me (I just tried this and edges still look sharp and fine). I was just looking off my balcony at a tree about 25 feet away and can even clearly see the individual strands of a spider web in it...
About them having "barrel distortion" (this is when a wide angle lens will bend the sides of an image making any vertical lines at the edges appear bowed or rounded). I dont really see much of that either. Even when I line up a door frame or something totally straight up and down at the edges, I dont see much... Maybe a VERY slight "bowing" but all wide angles lenses do that, and its not something a person would ever notice in use.
I have also seen post saying the focusing isnt precise and has a "dead spot" or something. Again I disagree. I think they focus great. No problems whatsoever getting things in sharp focus, and I feel zero slop or dead spots in focusing. I can even easily focus using just one finger- nice and smooth and have no problems getting precise focus- even using just the one finger.
The other thing I have seen people comment on is problems with attaching the neck strap. Unless the neckband design was different in the past you just need to be sure when you put the tabs on the neck band into the slots to be sure the part that pivots snaps back up into place. That is the only way I could see someone having them fall off or anything (if you didnt snap the pivoting part back up into place) They are very secure- no glue or anything required.
I also like the "fit and finish". Nice rubberized finish and a nice solid feel to them.
All in all I think this may have been the best $160 or so dollars I have ever spent. They focus to about 6 feet I think. They have a very wide FOV. They are sharp, bright, and clear. I love them! Couldnt be happier. I have lent them to two friends. One took them to a hockey game. Both of the friends (also non bird watchers) were blown away by them as I was. One has ordered a pair for himself already, and the other also want to buy a pair soon too.
Just wanted to "give back" as all the posts I have read helped me. Hopefully this will be of help to someone too. Scott
Thanks everyone- I have read many posts on this forum to help decide on what binoculars to buy. I wanted to give a short review of my new bushnell excursion 8x42 binoculars from a laymans perspective:
Just for perspective- I have never looked through a pair of leicas or swarovskis. I have only looked through binoculars you might find at a big 5 or similar place. I also have a pair of cheap zoom bushnells.
I was astounded when I first looked through the excursions. Everything looked so bright, clear, and sharp. looking through my old pair is like looking through two dark cloudy tunnels in comparison. Again I have never looked through any expensive high end stuff, but I just cant imagine how it would be possible for them to be hugely better (and I will never look through any- just in case .
I have read posts where people talk about them not being sharp at the edges, and also some have suggested there would be some distortion because they are so wide angle (FOV= 426 feet).
To me they look sharp period. I dont spend a lot of time looking at the edges. I mainly point them at things I want to look at, but even intentionally looking at the edges, they still look sharp and nice to me (I just tried this and edges still look sharp and fine). I was just looking off my balcony at a tree about 25 feet away and can even clearly see the individual strands of a spider web in it...
About them having "barrel distortion" (this is when a wide angle lens will bend the sides of an image making any vertical lines at the edges appear bowed or rounded). I dont really see much of that either. Even when I line up a door frame or something totally straight up and down at the edges, I dont see much... Maybe a VERY slight "bowing" but all wide angles lenses do that, and its not something a person would ever notice in use.
I have also seen post saying the focusing isnt precise and has a "dead spot" or something. Again I disagree. I think they focus great. No problems whatsoever getting things in sharp focus, and I feel zero slop or dead spots in focusing. I can even easily focus using just one finger- nice and smooth and have no problems getting precise focus- even using just the one finger.
The other thing I have seen people comment on is problems with attaching the neck strap. Unless the neckband design was different in the past you just need to be sure when you put the tabs on the neck band into the slots to be sure the part that pivots snaps back up into place. That is the only way I could see someone having them fall off or anything (if you didnt snap the pivoting part back up into place) They are very secure- no glue or anything required.
I also like the "fit and finish". Nice rubberized finish and a nice solid feel to them.
All in all I think this may have been the best $160 or so dollars I have ever spent. They focus to about 6 feet I think. They have a very wide FOV. They are sharp, bright, and clear. I love them! Couldnt be happier. I have lent them to two friends. One took them to a hockey game. Both of the friends (also non bird watchers) were blown away by them as I was. One has ordered a pair for himself already, and the other also want to buy a pair soon too.
Just wanted to "give back" as all the posts I have read helped me. Hopefully this will be of help to someone too. Scott
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